Michael Barbaro

Michael, my understanding based on the reporting we have at this point is that there was not one final thing, but rather, as you just laid out, the culmination of many things.

And over the last several weeks and months, many of Trump's allies and aides were whispering in his ear, encouraging him, prodding him to pull the plug, arguing there were people better positioned to accomplish his agenda at the Department of Justice.

Well, let's talk about who those people might be and who we think is likely to be the next attorney general for Trump.

So the search is ongoing.

But for the time being, the president has announced that Todd Blanch, the deputy attorney general, will serve as acting attorney general.

And in elevating Blanch, he's choosing someone who he's deeply familiar with.

Blanche, before he joined the administration, was the president's personal lawyer and represented him in multiple criminal trials, including sitting with him at the New York trial over the hush money payment to a porn star.

And so he deeply understands the president's desire for revenge.

And he has been a key part of the effort to run this retribution campaign from the Justice Department since day one.

Mm-hmm.

So he is, in theory, a logical...

candidate for the job, but he hasn't been nominated.

And we don't know exactly who will be.

Right.

We reported before Pam Bondi was fired that Trump had been interested in elevating Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the EPA, for the job.

But it's telling that Trump has not announced a permanent replacement.

When he fired Kristi Noem, he was teed up with Mark Wayne Mullen, the senator, who

This time, he's clearly still thinking about who he wants as her replacement.

Well, whoever ends up getting nominated, I wonder what you think the lesson of Pam Bondi, the very painful lesson of Pam Bondi, will be for the next attorney general.

I mean, they are going to face the same challenge, which is Trump has an enormous appetite for retribution.